A new year will mean a new home for some Gilmer County offices.
Plans for moving begin as the county completed purchase in December of the office building and community meeting center currently housing Piedmont Hospital offices on Industrial Boulevard in Ellijay.
“There will be a lot of moving going on, but it won’t all happen at once,” said Gilmer County Chair Charlie Paris. “It will be phased.”
At the top of the list for Paris is moving the UGA Extension offices out of their current home on Progress Road. Selling the building on Progress Road is an option being explored for after the relocation.
Second on the list is relocating the Gilmer County commissioners offices to the newly purchased building.
“Those are the two things we are looking at first,” Paris said.
Moving the commissioners offices will allow the election board to expand into the vacated space. It will allow for more space for early voting.
More space should allow the elections board to accommodate more people and shorten the lines during early voting, Paris said.
During the last several elections, commissioners have moved their work sessions and special called meetings into the jury assembly room in the courthouse to allow the elections office to use the conference room space.
Special requirements necessary for the elections office, such as safety, fire protection and handicap accessibility, make it more feasible to move the commissioners instead of the elections office, Paris said.
He intends to keep the community center next to the office building on Industrial Boulevard in its current state.
“I think the county needs a good community center like that,” Paris said. “It’ll serve a good purpose.”
Further down the line, Paris would like to consolidate all Gilmer County Sheriff’s offices on the third floor of the Industrial Boulevard building.
“Everything is pretty much tentative right now,” Paris said. “We know we have a lot of people that need to go there.”
For the time being, Piedmont Hospital still occupies offices in the building, and leases are in effect until completion of the new Piedmont building next to Hwy. 515. The new facility will consolidate many of the Piedmont Hospital offices spread throughout the county.
Gilmer County purchased the office building and community center for roughly $4.25 million.
In March 2023, Gilmer County commissioners approved a supplemental plan which set aside $3 million for a courthouse annex.
“We knew we were going to need more space,” Paris said.
Commissioners were able to add another $1.25 million to make the purchase of the office building and community center.
“We are not looking for long-term debt,” Paris said. “None of it is bonds or loans or anything like that.”